Assention and Resurrection not the same thing.   by jw. 8/17/01

Often people start to confuse the concept that Jesus Christ was resurrected
on Sunday Morning, or even some time on Sunday.  They need only to look back
at the facts and accept that three days and 3 nights is exactly 72 hours to
understand that God knew how to count and He also knew how to relay that
count to the people for today as he inspired the scriptures.  He then stated
the sign of Jonah to emphasize the timing.  So why is it that people have
the resurrection and assention at the same time?

Probably people have never thought about it and discussed the difference
from the two.  Assention time and Resurrection Time are different and
definitely not the same thing.  The Bible is very clear on that.

Counting three days and three nights from Jesus' burial in the tomb on
Wednesday evening near sunset brings us to Saturday evening near sunset. As
the Sabbath was ending, the Father burst the bonds of Christ's death by the
power of His Holy Spirit and resurrected Him as very God.

He was now prepared to be accepted before the Father. But John 20:1 and 17
show that His ascension did not occur until sometime Sunday.

On the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it
was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. .
.. . Jesus said to her, "Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet (oupo,
oo'-po; from G3756 and G4452; not yet, not, as yet, not yet.)  ascended to
My Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, 'I am ascending to My
Father and your Father, and to My God and your God.'"  This happened that
day but not necessarily in the early morning.  That evening he then met with
Thomas, and Thomas touched his hand.

The resurrected Jesus Christ fits into this picture as the archetypical
Wavesheaf. He was crucified "in the middle of the week" (Daniel 9:27), a
Wednesday, and put into the grave near sunset (John 19:31, 38-42). Mark
confirms this: "Now when evening had come, because it was the Preparation
Day, that is, the day before the Sabbath [an annual Sabbath, the first day
of Unleavened Bread]" (Mark 15:42). The holy day fell on a Thursday,
followed by a second preparation day, then the weekly Sabbath (Luke
23:54-56).

Jesus explains in Matthew 12:39-40 that the length of time He would be in
the tomb is the sign of His Messiahship:

An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be
given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three
days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man
be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

Counting three days and three nights from Jesus' burial in the tomb on
Wednesday evening near sunset brings us to Saturday evening near sunset. As
the Sabbath was ending, the Father burst the bonds of Christ's death by the
power of His Holy Spirit and resurrected Him as very God.

So when someone tries to explain the thought of a Sunday Morning or a late
Saturday night resurrection (after dark) you can clearly show them that the
two are not the same.  Christ was simply resurrected before sundown on
Saturday afternoon.